Short answer
Angels are made of light and have wings, "two or three or four" and more (35:1). The Prophet ﷺ saw Jibril in his true form with six hundred wings. Angels can also appear as men, as Jibril did to Maryam and to the Companions. They are neither male nor female and do not eat.
Belief in the angels as Allah describes them is fard. Calling the angels females is condemned in the Quran (43:19). Their exact forms beyond what the texts say are unseen matters we do not speculate about.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ said the angels were created from light. The Quran says Allah "made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills" (35:1). So wings are part of their nature, and their number differs by rank.
Jibril is the angel we know most about. The Prophet ﷺ saw him twice in his true form. Ibn Mas'ud explained the verses of Surah al-Najm by saying he saw Jibril with six hundred wings (Sahih al-Bukhari). Other reports describe him filling the horizon.
Angels can take human form. Jibril came to Maryam and "represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man" (19:17). He came to the Prophet's ﷺ gathering as a man in very white clothes with very black hair, and none of the Companions knew him, in the famous hadith of Jibril. The angels who visited Ibrahim looked like guests, but did not eat the meal he served them (11:69-70).
What they are not:
- Not female, and not "daughters of God", a pagan belief the Quran rejects (43:19).
- Not chubby winged babies, as in some Western art.
- Not the souls of people who died.
They worship Allah tirelessly and "do not disobey Allah in what He commands them" (66:6). Read Angels in Islam and the four great angels.
The evidence
Quran, Surah Faatir 35:1
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُو۟لِىٓ أَجْنِحَةٍۢ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَٰثَ وَرُبَٰعَ ۚ يَزِيدُ فِى ٱلْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ ﴿١﴾
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, [who] made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.
Angels have wings, in different numbers.
Quran, Surah Maryam 19:17
فَٱتَّخَذَتْ مِن دُونِهِمْ حِجَابًۭا فَأَرْسَلْنَآ إِلَيْهَا رُوحَنَا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَهَا بَشَرًۭا سَوِيًّۭا ﴿١٧﴾
And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen. Then We sent to her Our Angel, and he represented himself to her as a well-proportioned man.
Angels can take human form.
Quran, Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:19
وَجَعَلُوا۟ ٱلْمَلَٰٓئِكَةَ ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عِبَٰدُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ إِنَٰثًا ۚ أَشَهِدُوا۟ خَلْقَهُمْ ۚ سَتُكْتَبُ شَهَٰدَتُهُمْ وَيُسْـَٔلُونَ ﴿١٩﴾
And they have made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned.
Rejects the idea that angels are female.
Sahih Muslim 2996
Sahih... خلقت الملائكة من نور وخلق الجان من مارج من نار ...
"The angels were created from light, and the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire."
Angels are made of light.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3232
Sahih... رأى جبريل له ستمائة جناح ...
"He saw Jibril, who had six hundred wings."
Describes Jibril's true form.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Sharh al-Aqa'id al-Nasafiyya (al-Taftazani), Section on the angels. Says angels are servants of Allah, not described as male or female.
- Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Commentary on Surah Fatir, verse 1. Explains the verse on the wings of the angels.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.